Broadband News
Tue, 25th Feb 2014
Aussies being "gouged" for texting
Aussies are being taken to the cleaners when it comes to sending text messages, according to Australia's peak communications consumer body ACCAN.
Source: iTWire
Conroy accuses NBN Co of cooking rollout estimates
Senator Stephen Conroy has accused NBN Co chief Ziggy Switkowski of changing his story "to suit [his] own facts" when it comes to rollout targets set out in the organisation's strategic review document.
Source: iTnews Australia
NBN Co to test Aurora fibre plan in Tasmania
NBN Co will soon trial a proposal by Aurora in Tasmania to string fibre along power lines to reach homes, according to NBN Co chairman Ziggy Switkowski.
Source: Computerworld
NBN target easier to beat than we expected: Switkowski
NBN Co executive chairman Dr Ziggy Switkowski has admitted that NBN Co's low target for existing premises passed by fibre at the end of June this year is likely to be easily beaten.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Mon, 24th Feb 2014
Brandis threatens to mandate 'three strikes'
Australia's Attorney-General George Brandis has revealed the Government will implement a mandatory code of practice for internet piracy if the internet industry cannot agree on an acceptable voluntary scheme.
Source: iTnews Australia
ACCAN urges ACCC to interfere with telco SMS price inflation
Australian Communications Consumer Action Network has prompted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to impose SMS termination rates in order to squash price inflation.
Source: ARN
Dodo launches new 4G plans to target customer loss
While Australian telecommunications provider M2 reported the addition of 50,000 new customers in the last six months of 2013, subsidiary Dodo lost 25,000 mobile broadband customers.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Nextgen, Telstra wary of new backhaul rival
Nextgen Networks has asked Australia's competition regulator to pay closer attention to NBN Co's incursion into the backhaul market, asking the ACCC for "further guidance about its thinking" on keeping NBN Co in check.
Source: iTnews Australia
Dodo drives M2 broadband growth
The acquisition of Dodo led to strong revenue growth for M2 Group in the first half of the financial year, according to the telco's financial results released today.
Source: Computerworld
Turnbul's NBN morphs into shape
Welcome to the 'Optimised Multi-Technology Mix'. NBN Co has released its first half-yearly report since the election.
Source: iTWire
Fri, 21st Feb 2014
Malcolm Turnbull expects new Telstra NBN deal in a 'few months'
The renegotiation of Telstra's $11 billion NBN deal should be completed by the middle of the year, Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.
Source: SMH
NBN Co and Telstra negotiating new agreement for copper access
NBN Co is negotiating a collaborative agreement with Telstra to access its copper network for Fibre-to-the-Node trials in NSW and Victoria.
Source: ARN
NBN Co to rent Telstra copper for fibre-to-the-node trial
NBN Co has confirmed that it will rent Telstra's copper lines as part of a trial of fibre-to-the-node technology.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telco legislation to be repealed on first repeal day
Australian Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that 280 pages of telecommunications legislation will be repealed on the first repeal day in parliament in March.
Source: ZDNet Australia
MyBroadband site shows Internet blackspots
The Government has unveiled a new website which allow Australians to see how their neighbourhood rates in terms of Internet connectivity.
Source: iTWire
Survey finds mixed quality of broadband
About 1.6 million homes and businesses across Australia have either poor or no access to fixed broadband internet, a national broadband survey has found.
Source: Computerworld
Thu, 20th Feb 2014
NBN Co convinces iiNet to sign access agreement
ISP iiNet has resolved outstanding issues with NBN Co over its wholesale broadband agreement and will sign up to the commercial contract “imminently”.
Source: iTnews Australia
Virgin Mobile gets 4G on prepaid
Virgin Mobile prepaid customers in Australia now have access to the company's 4G network.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet adds 23,000 new NBN users
Telecommunications provider iiNet added 23,000 new NBN and fibre customers in the last six months, cementing its position as the nation's largest reseller of NBN services with a 25 percent market share.
Source: iTnews Australia
iiNet profit jumps 19 per cent
iiNet is continuing to see the benefits of its acquisitions over the past five years, recording what it calls a record result across all key metrics for the first half of the 2014 financial year.
Source: ARN
Government to fast-track NBN connection to 700,000 premises
The government says it will soon start rolling out high-speed broadband connections to 700,000 premises that have no access to fixed services.
Source: SMH
Telstra believes its subsea cables can't be tapped
Telstra has backed the security attributes of its subsea cable network, expressing a belief that its network isn't vulnerable to unlawful interception.
Source: iTnews Australia
Wed, 19th Feb 2014
NBN Co loses chief marketing officer
NBN Co's chief marketing officer Kieren Cooney has resigned from the company, executive chair Ziggy Switkowski announced to staff this morning.
Source: ZDNet Australia
iiNet plugs capex into IT, network upgrades
iiNet is investing over AU$15 million in the first half of this year in IT upgrades and improving network capacity.
Source: ZDNet Australia
Telstra confirms 800 roles to go at Sensis
Telstra has confirmed 800 roles are facing the knife at its Sensis division as it prepares to undergo consultation with affected employees.
Source: iTnews Australia
Telstra wins court battle over Optus ads
Telstra has been successful in its legal challenge to Optus ads which compare the two companies' network coverage, even though the ads are factually correct.
Source: iTWire
Tue, 18th Feb 2014
Government has 'lowered the bar' on the NBN
Opposition communications spokesman Jason Clare says the Government is deliberately lowering expectations on the NBN so it will look good when it exceeds them.
Source: iTWire
Tasmania offers NBN Co free access to power poles for fibre
The Tasmanian government has committed to offering NBN Co free access to Aurora Energy's power poles as a last-ditch attempt to get fibre rolled out to the state’s citizens.
Source: iTnews Australia
Labor offers free access to Aurora infrastructure for NBN
If Labor wins the 15 March Tasmanian election NBN Co will have free access to the infrastructure of electricity network provider Aurora to roll out fibre, under a policy launched by Premier Lara Giddings today.
Source: Computerworld
Telstra, Optus, AJC back subsea cable bill
Australia's largest submarine telecommunications cable operators have unanimously backed proposed changes to cable protection laws currently being considered by the Senate.
Source: iTnews Australia